


Road Trip

by And_all_the_other_buns



Category: Cain Saga and Godchild
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Modern Era, Secret Santa, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21942130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/And_all_the_other_buns/pseuds/And_all_the_other_buns
Summary: On the run from Alexis, Jezabel and Cassian run across country in an RV, not the best place to fall ill.
Relationships: Cassian/Jizabel Disraeli
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	Road Trip

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ivy_in_the_Garden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ivy_in_the_Garden/gifts).



Their little home on wheels was honestly not so bad once Jezabel got use to it. Upon first seeing the RV as he ran away from him that night, bloody and bruised, he'd all but refused to get in, his upper class sensibilities taking over his common sense for a moment. After 3 weeks on the road, though, it was honestly feeling like home. Sure the interior was upholstered in sickly pink and teal swatches over slate gray, and sure the carpet was threadbare, and the bathroom was little more than a closet where the door hit both their knees when they sat, but it was warm and it was safe.

Currently, however, it was also making him sick, a fact that he sorely mourned. Jezabel didn't think he was much for being motion sick, but considering his lifelong poor health, he supposed stranger things had happened. So as nausea unsettled his stomach that rainy morning, he took refuge in the front seat with Cassian, hoping the light and the upright seat might steady him. By now he pretty much had a nest up there, the passenger seat lined with his favorite op shop comforter and a couple pillows to pad his body against the door and the armrests. Often he would make camp here for a nap, or to talk to with cassian, or to listen to a new book off his phone. Already they had devoured Dorian Grey, Alas, Babylon and 2 Sherlock Holmes novels, and we're arguing between Harry Potter and Narnia.

"Hey babe," Cassian murmured, barely flickering his eyes over to Jezabel as he settled in. "I'm gonna park here in about 20; I have a job lined up hauling boxes for the afternoon, should make a solid 200, we'll be good for a couple days then huh?"

Jezabel nodded silently, closing his eyes as he leaned his head against the cold glass. Lethargy was a familiar companion, from overwork or little sleep, but right now, this was different. This was something heavy, dragging him into the seat like lead. Though he would have liked very much to sleep, rest evaded him. Over and over he scarcely drifted off, no more than a minute at a time, judging by the skips in the books narrative flow, only to be jolted back by another wave of unease in his gut. Deep breaths and a bottled water only helped so much, and within ten minutes he was springing to his feet with unexpected force, crossing the 8 feet to the "kitchen" sink in only two strides.

"...Jezzy?"

Over the pounding in his ears Jezabel could hear Cassian's voice calling to him from the front seat, dyed deep with worry. Too busy being quite ill to respond, Jezabel panted, legs and arms shaming with the exhersion to support himself. Ok, he was ok, this was ok-

"....Jezabel?!"

The urgency in his voice was enough to encourage Jezabel to speak, difficult though it was through a sore throat and rolling belly.

"I'm...I'm ok, Cass," he promised, bending down to press his head to his arms. "M...motion sick, I think? I'm ok, I'm gonna just...sit…" and so he did, easing himself down onto the thin, patchy carpet beneath him, feeling his heart pound as a wave of relief washed over him. Yes, sitting felt good, this was the best choice.

"Ok...Jezabel I'm going to pull into a parking lot soon as I can and come back ok?" Cassian called from the front seat, and Jezabel nodded; it then occurred to him that Cassian, being the astute driver he was, could not see him. So he eeked out a tiny, "ok". Sweat began cooling on his skin, and his jaw hurt from grinding it so tight. For weeks he had been lulled by the sway of their mobile home, but now it just churned a riot in his belly.

Within 4 minutes, though, Cassian was slowing them down, easing in to the parking lot of a £5 store, and immediately he was at Jezabel's side.

"Hey, sweetie, still feeling sick?" He asked sweetly, crouched down in front of jezabel. His boyfriend reached forward, placing a work toughened palm against his cheek. The contrast was sharp, Cassian's skin cool and dry.

Jezabel made a pitiful noise in the back of his throat, letting his eyes close.

"Car sick," he dismissed, eyes fluttering closed as he soaked up Cassian's touch. "I'm sure that's all-"

He was cut off as Cassian's hand left his cheek, sliding up to press against his forehead.

"Jezabel you feel feverish," he said, doubt causing his voice go waver. "Your skin's hot, and it's not all that warm in here-"

As though just realizing this fact, Jezabel gave a quick shiver, feeling his body tense for a few moments. 

"I'm fine."

"That's not an answer." Cassian pulled his hand back, still sat on his haunches as he appraised his dear Jezabel. His skin darkened and auburn hair streaked from the sun, it was possible at times to look at him and forget who had once owned this body. The concern of tight lips and warm hazel eyes only furthered this.

"Ok...why don't you go brush your teeth, and I will fold out the couch for you to lie down, ok?"

Jezabel opened his mouth immediately to argue; they had a perfectly fine bed up in the loft above the driver's seat, there was no need for Cassian to do any extra work! But just a quick glance up there had Jezabel changing his mind. With his shaky grip and lethargy, he had some severe doubts about being able to climb that narrow ladder up to their bed. And what if...if...he was ill again? Which he wouldn't be. But if…

"...I'm sure I just need a lie down, I'm just car sick," Jezabel said with stubborn resolve, and Cassian smiled appeasing at him, offering a strong arm to help him stand. Oh, no, standing was not fun, not at all, and he was suddenly quite grateful for how narrow their home was; he wasn't more than 5 inches away from a standing surface at any time. On shaky legs he made it to the bathroom, and gratefully rid himself of the foul taste of vomit and acid. The entire time though, his body shook, legs not quite willing to continue their job of holding him upright. Again, good thing this was about 12 square feet of standing room.

Back outside, Cassian had made quick work of the hallway that passed as a living area. Their table could fold up against the wall and allow for the long bench seat to pull out like a western style futon, making a bed big enough for one. He'd layered it with Jezabel's front seat comforter, as well as the thickest blankets from their bed and storage. He knew Jezabel ran cold, atop of whatever fever he may or may not be running. On the one hand, Jezabel had a deep and instinctive aversion to such attention. It just recalled back to his surgeries as a child, the false comfort his father offered, the layers of attention dulling his pain. It reminded him of the beatings, the whip wounds, the long nights awake in agony with no one to help him. Sometimes Cassian's kind words and soft touches soothed him, body and soul, and other times it just stabbed him straight through the middle.

For now, he just wanted to lie down, so he accepted Cassian's hand to get into bed, and let him pull the covers upriver his shoulders as he lie curled onto his side. Next to him, Cassian rigged up a pan and a towel.

"I'm gonna go run into the shop, ok? Get you something to drink," he explained, feeling for his wallet. "Then...ah...you'll be ok while I'm at work won't you? It's only going to be 4 or 5 hours-"

"I'll be fine," he assured him quickly, trying to infuse some confidence into his meek voice. "I just threw up, I'm not dying."

"...you know I put a lot of faith in you, Doctor," Cassian conceded. He grabbed his keys from the hook on the door, flipping them a couple times over in his hand, casting one last look at Jezabel before leaving.

Faith. Huh. What a funny word, Jezabel thought to himself as he nestled down further into the lumpy futon mattress. Faith in a serial killer, how odd. Not that Cassians words didn't fill him with a certain warmth, though. Faith, trust. Cassian laid himself down to sleep next to him every night, trusting that he would wake in the morning, trusting Jezabel to control those urges he had, the maddness that seemed to come over him. Trusted him to control his pain and manage it in a way that didn't involve bloodshed and vivisection.

And so far, Jezabel thought, perhaps he had earned that trust.

A wave of nausea began to claw at his belly, and he pursed his lips against it. Strange, he thought this would pass now that they were stationary.

Cassian took only ten minutes to return, his canvas bag full.

"I got you the purple Gatorade," he said cheerily, handing Jezabel the bottle. He took it with shaking hands, sipping at the cold drink. "And I got you crackers too, ok? I know you like these butter one's, in case you're still queasy?"

Jezabel thanked him quietly, never really able to look right at Cassian when he was providing such tender care for him. Didn't quite seem like he deserved it all, honestly. Guilt was still such an easy loop to be trapped in, no matter what Cassian told him to sooth his frazzled nerves. To show good faith, he opened the packet of crackers end took one out to nibble on, enjoying the bite of salt on his tongue. This seemed to be what Cassian wanted to see, because a tension began to ease out of his shoulders.

"That's my boy," he praised kindly, stroking a hand through Jezabels hair. "You have your phone, you'll text or call me if anything goes wrong, ok?"

Jezabel nodded, soothing Cassian's fears, and watched him leave, breathing a heavy sigh. He wished he had something worthwhile to contribute to their meager little home. He had so few skills that could make them a quick buck, not like Cassian with his strong back and quick strides. Some days he felt like such a leech...hard to harbor such thoughts right now though, with his stomach in a ruit. Carefully, Jezabel turned himself over, pulling a video up on his phone to watch as he tried to sleep. A long nap sounded like it would do him good, and science shows on YouTube were his favorite new thing. 

Within 30 minutes though, it was obvious sleep would not come easy to him, for many reasons, not the least of which was how quickly his drink and snack came back up. Ok, well. Obviously not motion sicknesses then, good to know. The chill and ache growing in his body was only a further indication. Dr. Disraeli was becoming quickly convinced that this nausea was, perhaps, not motion sickness.

"Fuck me," he sighed, sipping on his drink and feeling rather gross. He'd managed to pull his long hair back to be ill, and now drug himself out of bed long enough to find a hair tie in the bathroom caddy. Wrapping the black band around his wrist, he bunched his grayed blonde hair up into a messy bun, and pinned his bangs back. He had enough experience with failing health to know how to prepare. Jezabel could feel chills starting, which was just. Wonderful. And absolutely not what he needed right now. A fever was never something he took to well, damn it. He couldn't just get a sniffle and a warm spell, oh no.

Accepting his fate as well as he could, Jezabel sighed and pulled back the covers on his crappy bed, and crawled back inside, sighing at even the lumpy pseudo-mattress and it's promise of rest. Another knot was forming in his stomach, but he did what he could to force it back down. The cool cotton of his pillowcase leeched the warmth from his skin, and he savored it as he put on another video and watched it through pale, heavy lashes.

)))(((

Jezabel slept fitfully over the next four hours. A half hour here, 45 minutes there, only to be woken up by a sick belly and the burn of acid in the back of his throat. Baking soda and water was his constant companion for his mouth, and he sipped slowly on his Gatorade. Finally around 4pm he managed to slip into a semi deep sleep, not even noticing when Cassian first pulled open their creeky tin door. He didn't wake, even, until he felt Cassians hand against his forehead.

"Hey, baby bird," Cassian murmured as jezabel peered up at him, scrubbing at his hazy eyes. "You sleep ok?"

"No."

"Sounds about right," he chuckled. Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the yellowed windows, softening Cassians tired face, worn from an afternoon labor. "Do you need anything before I have a shower?"

Jezabel thought for a moment, exhausted and groggy, and spoke with hesitation.

"...my sheep?"

Cassian did not laugh, nor mock him. He Just smiled and nodded, then crawled up the ladder to their loft and grabbed Jezabel's plush lamb. He'd nabbed it for him a few days after they had left, in an Easter clearance bin. Soft and fluffy white curls covered it's body, and wore a pastel yellow ribbon around his neck. Jezabel fell asleep most nights with his lamb tucked underneath his chin, and right now he needed that comfort. He held it close, and went shrimp-like as Cassian went for his shower. Considering they weren't hooked up anywhere for the moment, it was a quick affair, barely 4 minutes, and he sat himself on Jezabel's bed as he emerged in clean sweat pants.

"Feeling any better?"

Jezabel shook his head slowly, and let cassian reach over to place a warm hand on his back.

"I'm sorry sweetie ...it's not motion sickness is it? Stomach flu?"

"It's not an actual flu, that's caused by an entirely different class of viruses," Jezabel said dully, and he could all but feel Cassian roll his eyes.

"Right, Doctor, my mistake," he sighed, putting on a good act of being disgusted, laughing a bit, but anxiety colored his voice. "Guess I'm out of step in my nurses training."

Jezabel wanted to snip back that Cassian was a lackluster nurse at best just to be annoying, but he couldn't really bring himself to say such a thing just then. In actuality Cassian was a fine assistant and not the worst nurse. He had learned quickly how to suture wounds closed quickly, and in a fairly neat way. He knew what kinds of drugs were better for different kinds of pain, he knew the signs of an overdose. Granted many of these items were learned by taking care of Jezabel and not so much from his actual training but it was something at least.

"....you look really pale, sweetie," he observed, moving to perch on the edge of Jezabel's bed, rubbing a hand soothingly along his shoulder. 

Jezabel just shrugged. "Tired," he dismissed, but Cassian wasn't one to leave it at that.

"You sleep ok while I was gone? Eat anything?"

All Jezabel could do was indicate his pack of crackers, which was thoroughly nibbled into, but admitted with some shame, "it's hard to keep down though."

Nodding, Cassian continued to rub his shoulder, slipping around to his back.

"Sure, I know babe," he murmured. "Do you think you could have some soup?"

With a noncommittal shrug, Jezabel burrowed down further into his nest, and let Cassian do as he wished for their supper. They were a two man family of meager means, but somehow Cassian made things work. Canned tomato sauce was thickened out with almost expired milk and canned vegetables into a soup some nights, others, packaged instant noodles were given a makeover with eggs and seasoning. He kept them fed, that's what mattered most nights, but right now, food was just not what Jezabel wanted at all. He wanted something to make him sleep this off, go into a coma through his fever, but that didn't seem to be in store for him. Indeed, a mug of vegetable barley soup was presently thrust upon him, and it took all his will to sip at it enough to sate Cassian. He smiled, and sat down next to Jezabel where he sat propped up beneath the window.

"Wanna watch the next episode of our show?" He asked, and Jezabel nodded, eager for a distraction. Digging his laptop out of its case, Cassian set it up on the counter opposite them, staring the next season of Downton Abbey, which was totally Jezabel's idea, even though Cassian talked about the characters and drama just as eagerly.

With his blankets pulled up tight around him, Jezabel tried to get down as much soup as he could, but he barely gone through half the nug when he pressed it back to Cassians hands.

"That enough?"

"Hardly," Cassian sighed, peering into the chipped ceramic cup. "But it's something huh?"

Jezabel nodded and, spurred by a full stomach and lethargy, he began to slide down against the wall, and further towards Cassian. His boyfriend opened his arms, willing to take Jezabel against his chest.

"You'll catch my plague," Jezabel warned, and Cassian shot him a perturbed look.

"So I can't call it the flu but you can call it the plague?"

"My medical degree says I can do what I want."

"Sounds like a malpractice suite ready to go," Cass sighed. "Whatever. I'm already exposed to whatever you have, babe. Just come here huh? I can tell you're cold.'

That was no lie. Chills were starting to take Jezabel's body as the sun went down outside. Perhaps much of this was the lack of heat in their RV, but no small part was attributed to his rising fever. Which he really couldn’t deny that he had anymore. He was shivering, he felt terribly cold, and yet when he lay his cheek against Cassian's shoulder, he could feel the contrast of cool cloth against his heated skin. Fucking wonderful...fine, he readily accepted the comfort Cassian was offering him, his arm wrapped strong and protective around his shoulders, settleing down for another episode. Sort of. Jezabel was losing time again. Not in the dissociative way that he sometimes did when the horrors around him became too overwhelming, but in the slipping off to sleep for several moments at a time way. It was not unlike sitting in the front seat through the night, losing half chapters and whole bits of their audiobooks; Cassian would always rewind when he asked, though, so they could both be caught up on the story.

Well. He could always just watch this episode again later, when he was awake, if he decided to just...to just let his eyes close for a few minutes. Just a few. He knew Cassian would stay with him, catch an hour or 2 of sleep as well, and that felt so very safe. Far away from father, away from that cold empty bed, away from his unfeeling eyes, and right here, somewhere safe.

)))(((

Everything was dark when he woke next, at least, everything inside. Through the thin blinds and curtains, street and city lights blurred by in bright yellows, whites and blues. The sway and motion told him they were on the road, traveling north again if Cassian was still going by their plan, to another place Cassian could get a day or two of work, where Jezabel could feel safe from whoever may or may not be following them. 

Trying to roll over, Jezabel felt his stomach turn again, and he curled up to settle it. Water, Gatorade, crackers, he found all within his reach, set out by Cassian, he was sure, to make sure he would easily have what he needed. So he eased out a packet of salty, buttery crackers, and began to crunch on one, hoping its starches would settle his stomach.

“You awake back there, love?”

Jezabel let out a muffled groan as a response, and heard Cassian chuckle. Pulling up to a red light, Cassian turned himself around in his seat as much as he could.

“All bundled up like that with a cracker, you look like my sweet little nesting hamster,” he teased, and Jezabel just narrowed his eyes, wondering if Cassian could read his disgruntled expression in the dim light. Fever still shook his body, making his limbs feel rubbery and achey, and the air around him feel even colder than it was, but the swaying of the RV was comforting in a way. He had started to become the sort who fell asleep easily in the motion. With Cassian nearby, singing badly and half mumbling to the radio, the smell of cheap coffee somehow not turning his stomach, his lamb tucked under his chin; even sick, it was far better being here, feeling safe, than to spend another day at Delilah.


End file.
